WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today Congresswoman Lois Capps announced the approval of $300,000 for the City of Oxnard’s Police Department as part of the Fiscal Year 2008 Departments of Commerce and Justice, and Science Appropriations (H.R. 3093) passed by the U.S. House of Representatives.

At the request of Congresswoman Capps, the bill includes $300,000 in funding for the City of Oxnard’s Policy Department to replace its outdated and unreliable Records Management System (RMS) with a more modern and dependable system. This new Records Management System will provide real-time tactical, investigative and management information to department officials, increasing the accuracy and efficiency of investigations and freeing up precious staff time.

“This funding will help our police officers by providing them with all the tools and resources they need to do their jobs” said Capps. “The purchase of this new Records Management System will result in more thorough investigations, quicker deployment of officers to respond to crimes. It will also redirect approximately 28,000 annual staff hours, the equivalent of 13.5 full time staff positions, from keeping track of paperwork to more traditional police work.”

“The Oxnard Police Department has outdated Computer Aided Dispatch and Records Management Systems (CAD/RMS) that need to be replaced,” said Oxnard Police Chief, John Crombach. “These computer systems support our city’s police, fire and emergency medical services. Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) is a software program that allows for the dispatching of police and fire operations to be automated and is an essential source of communication and information sharing amongst the city’s emergency workers. It provides for a greater level of effectiveness of our resources and provides for greater safety and accountability of our officers. The Records Management System (RMS) is an agency-wide system that provides for the storage of information pertaining to public safety operations. We are currently experiencing problems with slow data entry and very slow data retrieval.

“A new CAD/RMS system will provide for a safer work environment for our police officers and firefighters,” continued Crombach. “It will provide our officers and detectives better access to stored data. This data will make them more effective in addressing community problems and solving crime. It will also provide our supervisors and managers better opportunities at strategic deployment of our limited resources.

“The Oxnard Police Department very much appreciates the support of Congresswoman Lois Capps on this critical issue,” noted Crombach. “Replacing this technology infrastructure will assist our city in ensuring that Oxnard is a clean, safe and prosperous city.”

“While I am very pleased at the funding in this bill, nothing is final until the House and Senate work out differences between their separate versions of the legislation and the bill is signed into law,” noted Capps. “I will continue to work to make sure Central Coast priorities are taken care of in this legislation.”

For example, the bill provides much needed resources for law enforcement programs across the country, providing our local communities with the tools they need to keep our streets safe. The bill increases funding for state and local law enforcement and crime prevention programs, including $400,000 for Central and South Coast law enforcement agencies. It also supports the successful Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program which has helped put 404 cops on the beat from Morro Bay to Oxnard since the program began in 1994. Amazingly, the Bush Administration irresponsibly requested to end the COPS program, despite its contributions to a major drop in crime across our country during the 1990s and the early part of the current decade.

In addition to the President’s efforts to scrap the COPS program, the Bush Administration also tried to eliminate funding for the State Criminal Alien Assistance program (SCAAP) which assists state and local governments with the costs of jailing undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes not related to their immigration states. This bill rejects the President’s misguided attempt to pass the buck to local and state government and provides $460 million to help with these burdensome jailing costs, much of which will go to California. These are just two examples of the many ways the Democratic majority worked to reject the short sighted policies of the Bush Administration and Congressional Republicans, and ensure that our law enforcement officials had the resources and tools to do their jobs and keep us safe.

In addition to protecting public safety this legislation helps maintain our competitiveness in the global economy by increasing investment in scientific research so we can continue to produce cutting edge developments in science and technology. Of particular importance for our country’s future is the significant investment -- $28 billion -- for science and science education. This funding will aid the National Science Foundation, including money for scholarships to encourage young scientists to become math and science teachers. This investment will help ensure that America continues to produce the next generation of leading scientists and researchers.

Finally, the legislation provides vital support for programs that help protect our marine environment and coastal communities, and tackles one of the greatest challenges of our time – global warming. Specifically this bill provides $1.86 billion for research and development projects to develop strategies for what we can do to address this serious challenge. It also restores the President’s deep cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which oversees science, education, and preservation programs the help protect and preserve our oceans, coastal land and estuaries.

These are just a few of the highlights of this excellent bill that will help move America forward and ensure the safety and security of our streets, our economy, and our environment.

Pictured above: (center) Congresswoman Capps meets with Central Coast firefighters to discuss emergency preparedness.